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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26512282">Come Together</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MauveCat/pseuds/MauveCat'>MauveCat</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Year in the Life [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Endless Summer (Visual Novel)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Complicated Relationships, Family Feels, Multi</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-17</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 03:14:11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,641</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26512282</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MauveCat/pseuds/MauveCat</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Jake has support on a road trip</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Estela Montoya/Main Character (Endless Summer), Mike Darwin/Jake McKenzie, Quinn Kelly/Jake McKenzie</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>A Year in the Life [5]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1885183</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>4</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>5</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Come Together</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>
  <strong>FEBRUARY</strong>
</p><p>Jake kept his eyes on the scenery passing by the car window. “Sorry about this, Princess. I’m pretty sure this isn’t how you planned on spending your first Mardi Gras,” he said quietly.</p><p>Trying to keep her voice light, Taylor replied, “I’m not really missing it – it’s not until tomorrow and anyway, they celebrate Mardi Gras in Shreveport too, right?” She took her eyes off the interstate long enough to glance into the rearview mirror. Jake was still staring out the window, his phone clenched tightly in his hand. Estela sat by the other window, Quinn sandwiched between her and Jake. “Besides, now that I’ve learned how to drive, I was itching to get on the road. Thanks for taking your lives in your hands by being my first official passengers.”</p><p>“You seem to be doing okay, E.T.” From the seat beside her, Mike asked, “And I don’t think I ever heard how the wedding went?” His face was tight, but he managed to sound casually interested.</p><p>Taylor did her best to match his tone. “It wasn’t really a wedding. Estela and I went to the courthouse in La Colina with Tio Nicolas, we filled out the necessary paperwork, and boom, we were married. Now I’m officially Taylor Olivia Jardin-Montoya. Remind me to congratulate Zahra – no one down there had any doubts about my birth certificate. I wish I hadn’t told her it was okay to let Diego choose my parents’ names, though. George and Martha? Really?”</p><p>“As in Clark Kent’s parents? Figures.” Mike smiled slightly. “Anyway, Zahra does good work. My pilot’s license looks perfect. She even scuffed it up and got some motor oil on it so anyone who sees it will think I’ve been carrying it around for a couple years.”</p><p>“Maybe you could have used it to fly us to Shreveport,” Quinn said, a slight edge in her voice. “It’s only about three and a half hours away by air.”</p><p>Mike was silent for a moment. “We went over this. It’s forty-five minutes from Jake’s apartment to the airfield, and that’s on a good day. With all the extra traffic and detours set up for Mardi Gras parades, we’d be adding an extra half hour at least. I doubt any other Rourke pilots are anywhere near New Orleans today so we’d need to get the plane ready, get in touch with the airport, and file a flight plan. There’s an Air Force base near Shreveport so they take traffic control seriously. That’ll tack on another hour, easy. Then add on more time to pick up a rental car to drive to the hospital, even if we arrange it while we’re in the air. The drive to Shreveport is a little under five hours – a lot under, the way Leadfoot here is driving – so we’re saving time.”</p><p>Quinn drew a breath to answer, but Estela interrupted her. “Jake? Is there any news about your mother?”</p><p>Jake finished writing out a text. He didn’t give any sign that he’d paid attention to the tense exchange between Quinn and Mike. “Dad says the ER doc is insisting on a CT scan since Mom lost consciousness for about a minute when she fell off the stepstool. Mom’s spitting mad about even being at the hospital, which we both think is a good sign. I was just up there last week for my birthday – if she wanted the damn ceiling washed, she should have told me. Anyway, the hospital is backed up because of all the extra Mardi Gras dumbassery so they’re going to have to wait a couple hours at least to get her into the machine.”</p><p>“If they’re making her wait rather than rushing her in for the scan, that means they’re not too worried about her. We’re coming up on Alexandria – do you need a pit stop, Grandpa?”</p><p>Quinn started to say something but this time, it was Jake who interrupted her. “Yeah, probably. After I got Dad’s call, I was in such a hurry to get going that I forgot to hit the bathroom. I really need to take a leak right about now. Let’s just find someplace halfway clean and get right back on the road, though.”</p><p>“You got it,” Taylor told him. The interior of the car fell silent until, several minutes later, she pulled off the interstate into a large gas station. As she stopped the car, she said, “Okay, I’ll fill up and then if someone else wants to drive, I won’t say no.” Rather than going to the restroom with Estela, Quinn hung back with Taylor. She waited for the redhead to say something; then, finally, Taylor asked, “Are you all right?”</p><p>With a half-hearted smile, Quinn said, “Not really, no. I’m worried about Jake and his mom. Besides that, I’m kind of mad in general, but most of all at myself.”</p><p>“What? Why are mad?”</p><p>Quinn looked around to make sure none of the others were nearby. “It’s stupid and childish, so please don’t try to tell me it isn’t. But for the past few years, Jake and I have always spent Mardi Gras together. I guess it never occurred to me that things might be different this year. I told him that changing our plans didn’t bother me but then, out of the blue, it started bothering me.”</p><p>Taylor looked at her guiltily. When Jake had invited her and Estela to join him for Mardi Gras, she’d never stopped to think about Quinn and her relationship with Jake. “Quinn, I’m sorry –”</p><p>“No, no, no.” Quinn waved a hand at her. “I told you that I know it’s childish, and <em>God</em>, if there’s anyone I’d be willing to change my routine for it’s you.” She sighed. “It’s just... I’m still getting used to Mike being here in New Orleans. He’s got his own place and it’s not like he and Jake are joined at the hip, but when Jake found out his Mom was in the hospital, he called Mike as soon as his dad hung up.”</p><p>“But Quinn... you were right there with me and Estela when Jake got the call. All of us knew already what had happened – of course Jake would want to let Mike know.”</p><p>Quinn sighed. “And Mike dropped everything and came over, and he decided it would be quicker to take Jake’s car, and Jake automatically went along with it.” She gave Taylor an apologetic smile. “And I’ll be honest with you. I know that Mike was right about driving and that you agreed with him, which is why you grabbed Jake’s keys right away. On top of that, Mike noticed that Jake needed a break when I didn’t. It’s just... a little hard, you know? I know how ironic this is coming from me, but I suppose I was used to having Jake to myself and I don’t see our relationship being the same as it was before. As complicated as the whole alternate universe thing makes their relationship, Jake and Mike have a history together that I can’t compete with.”</p><p>Taylor slid her card out of the reader. “I can understand how that would be hard on you, but Mike’s kind of in the same boat, isn’t he?” When she saw Quinn’s bewildered expression, Taylor struggled to explain herself. “I haven’t spent all that much time with him but I’m pretty sure that he’s trying to keep his distance from you and Jake because he knows how much you mean to him. All of us are tied together by what we went through on La Huerta. That’s something Mike... well, <em>this </em>Mike, at least, wasn’t a part of. And on top of that, this Mike is adjusting to an entirely new world where everyone who ever knew him thinks he’s been dead for years. If any of our Mike’s family ever sees him, or if he runs into someone he knew in the Navy, how would he explain himself? He’s all alone, except for Jake. And then when you consider that on either side of the divide, the two of them were involved –”</p><p>“They were more than involved,” Quinn murmured. With a slight shake of her head, she glanced toward the restroom and said, “A quick break is probably a good idea. I’ll be right back.”</p><p>Frowning slightly, Taylor watched her walk away; she understood when she saw Mike walking away from the gas station. “Is Jake on his way?” she asked as he approached the car.</p><p>“Yeah. He said he needed a minute. I’ll give him two before I go pull him out.” Mike leaned against the side of the car and watched the traffic going by. After a moment, he asked, “Everything okay with Red?”</p><p>“Oh, sure. She’s worried about Jake and his mom,” Taylor replied. “And hospitals make her a little anxious because she spent most of her childhood in them.”</p><p>“You think that’s it?” Mike didn’t seem convinced. “Anyway, Jake’s taking it really hard. But Josie’s a tough lady and I’m sure she’ll be fine. Well, the Josie I knew was tough, at least, but I don’t see any reason why she’d be different on this side.” Without giving Taylor a chance to answer, he went on. “Do you want me to take the wheel from here? I was in Shreveport a few times... you know, before. The hospital’s got to be in the same place so I can probably find it without too much trouble even without GPS.”</p><p>“Only if I get to ride shotgun,” Taylor told him with a smile. “I’m going to wash the gas off my hands – I’ll be right back out.” She passed Estela on her way to the restroom. Nodding at the phone in her wife’s hand, she asked, “Is anybody looking for us?”</p><p>“Hmm?” Estela looked around in alarm for just a second before she relaxed. “No, I had a message from IRIS – it’s nothing serious, I promise. I’ll fill you in later.” With a quick kiss to Taylor’s cheek, Estela kept walking to the car.</p><p><em>You’d better,</em> Taylor thought as she continued toward the gas station.</p><p> </p>
<hr/><p> </p><p>“Everyone okay with valet parking?” Mike asked the question of everyone as the car neared the kiosk in front of the hospital’s main entrance, but it was Estela he looked at.</p><p>She thought it over, and then nodded. “It’ll be the quickest way to get Jake inside. Let’s all remember to check the car out before we get back in, though. Okay, Jake?”</p><p>“Hmm? Oh, yeah. Sure.” Jake turned off his phone and shoved it in his pocket. As they all got out of the car and Mike handed over the keys to the parking attendant, he said, “I just let Dad know that I’m here. Mom’s in the scanner now. He told me where to meet him – family only, though. Hospital rules.”</p><p>“Yeah, they’re pretty strict about that.” Quinn looked around as they entered the hospital. She was even paler than usual, Taylor noticed.</p><p>“And I’ll have to keep a low profile anyway. It probably wouldn’t be a good idea if your folks ran into me here.” Mike glanced around the lobby. “Because Ben McKenzie is a lot of things, but ‘subtle’ isn’t one of them. If he catches sight of me, the whole hospital’s going to hear about it.”</p><p>Jake looked from him to Quinn. “Listen, all of you – if you’d rather head out, I’ll be fine from here. Even after the scan, it’ll take a while to get any results back.”</p><p>With an exasperated sigh, Estela pulled him in for a hug. “Go find your parents, <em>cabrón</em>, and stop worrying about us. We’ll drink coffee and eat cafeteria food and pick out a gift and some flowers for your mother. Get going, and remember to let us know as soon as you find out anything.” Without waiting for an answer, she turned Jake around and gently pushed him away. With an absent-minded wave, he went down the hallway. “I hope I didn’t point him in the wrong direction,” Estela sighed.</p><p>Quinn scanned a huge wall map of the hospital. “No, that’ll get him there.”</p><p>“You read that map awful quick,” Mike said.</p><p>Giving him a little shrug, she answered, “When you’ve spent as much time in hospitals as I have, you get a feel for how they’re laid out.”</p><p>Taylor hesitated, then asked her, “How crowded do you think the cafeteria will be?”</p><p>Quinn thought it over. “Mondays are usually pretty light in most hospitals, except for emergency rooms. Besides, Mardi Gras is a big deal around here and I don’t think many people would schedule elective surgery for the day before. It’s the middle of the afternoon so the cafeteria might not be empty but we shouldn’t have any trouble finding a table. Why?”</p><p>“For one thing, we drove straight through lunch and I won’t speak for anyone else, but I’m starting to feel a little hangry. For another?” Taylor looked at Estela. “I really want to know why IRIS left you a message.”</p><p>Estela put an arm around her waist reassuringly. “Like I told you, it wasn’t anything urgent. But you’re right; we should probably talk about it. Feel like leading the way, Quinn?”</p><p>Quinn took another quick look at the map. “Sure, follow me.”</p><p>A few minutes later, they had their meals and were seated around a table. With a glance around to make sure no one was within earshot, Estela said, “IRIS just called to give me an update on a few things. She still hasn’t seen any sign of Rex Lundgren – but, as she constantly reminds me, she’s good but she’s not omniscient. She’s nowhere near ready to conclude that he didn’t make it off La Huerta. All she knows for sure is that his fingerprints haven’t turned up in any recent investigations in the areas she’s monitoring, and no one matching his description is on anyone’s wanted list.”</p><p>“Wait, how did she manage to get his fingerprints?” Quinn asked.</p><p>“I’m guessing she pulled them from the Department of Defense servers when she went in there to take care of mine,” Mike told her. At Quinn’s questioning look, he shrugged. “All service members have their prints on file, and they’re digitized these days. Since commercial pilots are fingerprinted too, IRIS altered my Navy records to avoid complications in case anyone decided to cross-reference for some reason. I don’t really want to ask how she did it without getting caught.”</p><p>“We’re probably better off not knowing.” Turning back to Estela, Taylor said, “Where is she looking for him?” She took a bite of her sandwich and put it down. “This is an interesting interpretation of chicken salad.”</p><p>“Welcome to the world of hospital food,” Quinn said drily. “The best you can say for it is that if you get food poisoning, you’re in the right place.”</p><p>Estela grinned. “That’s a positive take, I suppose. Anyway, IRIS says she started with the Caribbean countries, and then Central and South America, then Mexico. She’s watching a lot of the United States too, but she’s concentrating on areas that any of us have connections to. She’s also taken a quick look at most of Nebraska.”</p><p>Mike frowned. “Nebraska?”</p><p>“That’s where Lundgren’s family is from. He grew up in Omaha and he’s also got a lot of relatives around the middle of the state. But since they’d already unanimously disowned him even before he joined the military, she doesn’t think it’s likely that he’d find refuge there.”</p><p>Tapping his fingers on the table, Mike said, “Could you tell the Blue Fairy to keep checking on the area anyway? I wouldn’t trust him to ask his relatives nicely for help, and I sure wouldn’t trust him to take ‘no’ for an answer.”</p><p>“That’s a good point. I’ll pass it on.” Estela took out her phone and opened her texts again. “There’s also a tentative settlement for the Malatesta artifacts. The only point of contention left is the crystal that IRIS and the others switched. They’re trying to agree on who’s going to evaluate it, since they still think it’s an emerald. But IRIS says she’s started trickling out information about that quasi-legendary jewel thief who was part of the dive team, so that might be the smokescreen we need. She and Zahra are monitoring developments on that front.”</p><p>“So we’re back to waiting.” Taylor took another bite of her sandwich, then wrapped it up again and tossed it back on her tray. “Okay, that’s it. I don’t care how hungry I am, this is awful. I saw some vending machines in the lobby – whatever is in there has got to be better than this.” She stood up. “Who’s with me?”</p><p>Estela pushed her chair back. “I’ll take a look with you. How about you two?”</p><p>Quinn and Mike exchanged a glance, and Quinn turned to the others. “I’m used to hospital food. Why don’t you two go check the vending machine options?”</p><p>“And I’ve sure eaten a lot worse than this. I’ll stay here too.” Mike twirled some more spaghetti onto his fork with an air of resignation.</p><p>When Taylor and Estela exchanged a look, Quinn sighed. “Go on, take a walk around the hospital. We’ll be fine. I promise to behave.”</p><p>“If you’re sure…?” A little doubtfully, Taylor let Estela lead her out of the cafeteria. A few minutes later, they were standing in front of a row of vending machines. “Well, isn’t this a disturbingly healthy selection.”</p><p>“Don’t grumble. We’re in a hospital – of course they’ll try to keep the junk food to a minimum. How about a couple of granola bars, and we can split a package of apple slices?” Estela waited for Taylor’s reluctant nod to start punching buttons. Handing one of the bars to Taylor, she said, “Now let’s go take our walk. It’ll be a while before Jake knows anything.”</p><p>As they stepped outside, Taylor looked up at the clear blue sky and took a deep breath. “Jake is really worried about his mom, isn’t he?” she asked as they began strolling down the sidewalk.</p><p>“So worried that he hasn’t told a single joke since he got the call,” Estela agreed. “He’s really protective when it comes to his parents. They went through some rough times while he was on the run – they never believed he was a traitor, of course, but some of their friends and neighbors made it rough on them.” She was quiet for a few paces. “Jake said that his parents were really close to Mike – they used to invite him to spend holidays with them, since Shreveport was a lot closer to Annapolis than the West Coast. And from what….” She made a face. “I hate to keep thinking of him as ‘new Mike.’ It’s not fair to him, is it? Anyway, it was the same for them over on his side. It’s got to be hard on him keeping his distance.”</p><p>Dropping her empty wrapper in a trash can, Taylor buttoned her jacket and put her hands in her pockets. She’d gotten used to the Caribbean climate of San Trobida and La Huerta, and even the mild Louisiana temperature seemed chilly to her. As they ambled down the sidewalk outside the hospital, she looked at Estela. “Quinn’s awfully tense, too. I guess it’s hard on her being back in a hospital, considering how much time she spent in them when she was little. What do you think is going to happen with those three?”</p><p>Estela shrugged as she ate another apple slice. “I wish I knew. At least it looks like Quinn and Mike are talking to each other, rather than snapping at or avoiding each other.”</p><p>“And Jake? I know he’s not happy with the way things are, but I don’t know what....” She trailed off.</p><p>It took Estela a few seconds to realize that Taylor’s steps had slowed. “What is it?”</p><p>“I’m not sure. I was wondering if Jake has any idea what he wants to do about the whole –” Taylor took one hand out of her jacket pocket and twirled it in the air. “The whole everything, I guess. But... are we sure that Jake wants to choose? Or that he even has to?”</p><p>“What are you... oh. <em>Oh.</em>” Estela looked at Taylor, her eyes wide. “Do you mean that all three of them could somehow work out an... arrangement? That honestly never occurred to me.”</p><p>Taylor frowned. Almost to herself, she said, “Jake and Quinn never made any kind of formal announcement, according to the others, but everyone knows they’ve been involved for a few years. I guess the consensus is that what they have isn’t quite casual, but it’s not exclusive, either. I don’t know if Jake is seeing anyone else, but I know that Quinn’s had a few relationships with other people here and there.”</p><p>Nodding as they rounded a corner, Estela said, “She’s not interested in settling down with one person, she says. Maybe somewhere down the line, but not now. And no, other than a few dates right after we got off La Huerta, I don’t think Jake has been seriously involved with anyone besides her. I’m sure he would have said something. None of us are very secretive about our private lives, you know,” she said drily.</p><p>“I’ve noticed.” Taylor laughed and put her arm through Estela’s. A white-haired woman walking in their direction stared at them, aghast, before putting her nose in the air and pointedly swerving around them. Raising her eyebrows, Taylor glanced at her wife. “Do you think that was good or bad timing on my part?” she asked quietly.</p><p>“The best timing in the world,” Estela said firmly as she tightened her grasp on Taylor’s arm for a moment. They walked in silence until they neared the next corner. Finally, Estela said, “But what about Mike, and what he wants? He’s gone through so much – living under a dictatorship, losing his family and most of his friends, watching Jake die in front of him. Having a second chance with Jake must seem like a dream to him. On the other hand, though, maybe he thinks just having Jake in his life is enough?”</p><p>Taylor shook her head. “Have you seen the way he looks at Jake? Or the way Jake looks at him, for that matter? Even if they technically only met a few months ago, they both have a lot of memories of being involved with each other’s counterpart. But none of that seems to have anything to do with what Jake and Quinn have between them. I don’t think ‘it’s complicated’ is adequate for what they’re going through.” She sighed fretfully. “I hate feeling helpless.”</p><p>“I know, but we can’t really do anything. The three of them are doing to have to figure this out for themselves.” Estela nodded toward the hospital. “Do you want to turn around and head back inside, or should we go full circle?”</p><p>“Let’s keep walking a little bit more.” Taylor hesitated for a moment. “Being at a hospital has got me thinking. Did you know I’ve been talking to Michelle?”</p><p>Estela nodded, seeming completely unsurprised by the change of subject. “About your periods?”</p><p>“You mean the periods I’m not having?” Taylor snorted quietly. “I’ve been back for months and I haven’t had a single twinge, not the tiniest cramp or mood swing or any other physical sign. Michelle thought at first that it might have just been the physical stress of being... reassembled. But it’s been four months and nothing is happening in there. I think –” She drew a deep breath. “I need to get to the bottom of this. Michelle has been after me to get a complete physical, but I don’t want to go in blind. Do you think IRIS could... I don’t know, scan me to see if something is missing? That way when I <em>do</em> get an actual checkup, there’d be something in the fake medical history IRIS and Michelle are putting together for me, just in case something is off.”</p><p>“I’m sure she could,” Estela said as she gently clasped Taylor’s hand. “I know you were a little distracted when you first got back, but when IRIS saw you she immediately scanned your body. I’m sure that if she’d seen something wrong, she’d have told you by now. She’s sort of a mother hen,” she finished a little sadly.</p><p>“I’ve noticed. Now that I’ve got the hang of how to knit, she keeps sending me patterns and boxes full of yarn. Well, at least she’s getting a chance to be a mom again – a grandmother, too, even if the situation is... unorthodox. Maybe when we’re in Boston next month –“ Taylor fell silent as her phone vibrated in her pocket; judging by Estela’s reaction, hers was doing the same. They read the message from Jake at the same time, and both women relaxed. “Oh, thank God,” Taylor murmured as she tapped out a quick reply.</p><p>With a relieved sigh, Estela put her phone away. “I’m glad they got the results back already. But since they’re making Josie stay overnight for observation as a precaution, I’m sure Jake will want to spend the night – at least one night, and probably more – with his parents, so I’ll get hotel rooms for the rest of us.”</p><p>“That sounds good –” Taylor’s phone buzzed again. She read the incoming text and her eyebrows slowly went up. “Well. That’s interesting... Quinn wants to know if the two of us will pick out a bouquet because she and Mike are already heading to the gift shop.”</p><p>“Together? I suppose that’s a good sign.” Estela turned toward the hospital. “Shall we?”</p><p>“Absolutely.” Taylor looked over at Estela as they made their way back inside. “But... should we keep it to ourselves?”</p><p>“That Jake’s mom has a concussion?”</p><p>“No – well, maybe we should. I suppose Jake should be the one to let everyone know about that. I was actually talking about what’s going on between those three.”</p><p>Estela smiled. “In that case, we should definitely keep it to ourselves. Otherwise we’ll have Raj printing up t-shirts that say ‘Go Polyamory!’ and passing them around at our next get-together. Let’s leave it to them to decide what, if anything, will happen.”</p><p>“Good idea.” Taylor took Estela’s hand in hers. “Do you think Jake’s mom would like a modest bouquet, or something big and showy?”</p><p>“Oh, big and showy, definitely.” Estela laughed. “And probably more than one. She’s going to want to show them off to her friends.”</p><p>Taylor grinned in response. “Really? All right, mission accepted. Let’s go get her some flowers. And do you think we could find a bakery that makes those cakes you’re supposed to eat at Mardi Gras?”</p><p>“A king cake?” Estela nodded as she pulled out her phone again. “I was going to pick one up for us back in New Orleans anyway. Jake might have to sneak it past the nurses, but let’s do it.”</p><p>“Order two cakes – we can share ours with Quinn and Mike at the hotel.” Taylor put her arm through Estela’s again as they went through the hospital doors. “I need something to make up for my granola bar lunch.”</p><p>“It’s nice to know it’s that easy to make you happy, <em>querida</em>.” The white-haired woman from the sidewalk was standing by a reception desk. Once Taylor was sure she’d noticed them, she stopped Estela, gently took her face in her hands, and kissed her. When they separated, Estela smiled and tucked a lock of hair behind Taylor’s ear. “What was that for?”</p><p>“Nothing. I just really like kissing you.” Giving the offended woman a little wave, Taylor pointed at the florist on the other side of the lobby. “Now let’s go buy us some flowers.”</p>
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